Treat hypertension classical music

Next time you feel like your blood pressure is rising, put on some classical music.  This is the advice from a study of how listening to different genres of music appears to have a calming effect on blood pressure and the cardiovascular system.

Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum located in Germany presented their findings in the current issue of Deutshes Arzteblatt International.

There were 120 participants of which 60 participants listened to music for 25 minutes.  These same 60 participants were subdivided into three groups – the first group listened to music composed by W.A. Mozart, the second group was exposed to music by J. Strauss Jr. and the third group listened to the Swedish pop band ABBA.  The other 60 participants were part of a control group that did not listen to music.

Results from the study found that those listening to classical music by either Mozart or Strauss had notably lower rates in their blood pressure and heart rate.  The group exposed to the music of ABBA had no substantial effect on their blood pressure or heart rate. The participants in the control group who rested in a supine position in silence did experience some lowering of their blood pressure but was not nearly to the extent of the groups who listened to classical music. 

Another effect noted was that concentrations of cortisol dropped more so in men than women, especially after hearing the melodic sounds of Mozart and Strauss. 

It appears from this study playing classical music may be a novel method of lowering blood pressure without medications.